Method for selectively pretinning a guidewire core

ABSTRACT

A method of pretinning a guidewire core made of shape memory alloy and having an elongate axis, comprising: placing a ball of solder in a pocket in a soldering block; melting the ball of solder; holding a guidewire core over the ball of solder; lowering the guidewire core into the ball of solder; removing the guidewire from the ball of solder.

BACKGROUND

It is known in the art to form guidewires for placement in the humananatomy. Many guidewires are fabricated from a superelastic Nitinol(nickel titanium) alloy. In some known methods of guidewire fabricationand assembly, the distal end of the nitinol core is “pretinned” with asolder alloy to enable subsequent assembly by soldering a coil onto thedistal end.

Such known methods may include a pretinning process which involves aheated crucible containing several pounds of molten solder and a coverlayer of molten flux. The molten solder may be a mixture of tin andgold, and as a consequence the value of a solder station known in theart may be between $40,000 to $50,000. The flux may be a eutecticmixture of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. The distal end ofeach core wire is plunged or dipped into the crucible multiple times,resulting in a pretinned section approximately 5 cm long that is readilysolderable at any point along that length using the type of fluxtypically used for stainless steel.

In some guidewire designs, the entire nitinol core wire is in thesuperelastic condition, having been previously cold worked via wiredrawing then heat treated at about 500° C. to straighten the drawn wireand impart superelasticity. Because superelastic nitinol has alreadybeen heat treated at a higher temperature than will be encounteredduring the pretinning procedure, this pretinning method may affectstraightness of the wire if the wire is bent while exposed to pretinningtemperatures. That is, the bend will become permanent. (However, it is acharacteristic of superelastic NiTi that has been previously cold workedprior to heat treatment, that its straightness will not be impactedwhere it is held straight while being heated in a pretinning process)

However, in other designs, the tip of the guidewire core may be treated,by various different means including by cold working, to remove thesuperelastic properties. This leaves the tip capable of being deformedpermanently by the user. A design and method following such a process isdisclosed in application Ser. No. 14/042,321 which is co-owned by theapplicant company. It is incorporated herein in full, by reference.Thus, where the user requires a J tip, a micro-J tip, or other desiredshape to facilitate threading the guidewire in a complex anatomy, suchshape may be imparted to the tip manually before insertion into thepatient. In the case of such guidewire core, the method of pretinningdescribed above, wherein the distal end of each core wire is plungedinto the crucible multiple times up to a depth of about 5 cm, causessignificant distortion to occur in the cold worked section.

As further background, the need for pretinning nitinol core wires arisesbefore they are soldered. Soldering fluxes that enable solder alloys towet nitinol are commercially available so, in theory, pretinning beforeassembly should be unnecessary. However, certain alloys that arefrequently used for their other beneficial characteristics, (forexample, Indium Alloys' Flux #2 and Flux #3) volatilize when heated andleave considerable residue that can tenaciously mask areas where solderis intended to flow. Further, such residue can be challenging to remove,particularly when trapped within coils or other features having littleclearance and poor line-of-sight inspectability.

In this respect, non-removed residue is highly undesirable because itcan cause subsequent corrosion of the solder or substrate materials. Forthis reason, it is advantageous to pre-tin and completely remove allpre-tinning flux residue while it is exposed and readily visible, andthen use an easier-to-remove flux when subsequently soldering thepre-tinned nitinol core wires into assemblies. For example, fluxes usedfor soldering stainless steels or precious metals are aqueous solutionscontaining zinc chloride and hydrochloric acid, and their residue doesnot exhibit a masking effect and is far easier to remove from coils andother low-clearance features.

Thus, there is in the art, a need for a method for pretinning guidewirecores made from superelastic alloys, which avoids the above problem. Thepresent invention addresses these and other needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the invention is a system for applying a layer ofsolder to a core wire for a guidewire. The invention comprises a numberof elements. A soldering block is provided having a first upper surfacethat defines a crucible having a bottom surface positioned below thefirst upper surface. A beam is provided to extend transverse to thesoldering block and having a second upper surface in a horizontal plane,the second upper surface defining a groove, the groove being sized toreceive the core wire, the beam further defining a space sized toreceive a portion of the soldering block that includes the crucible,wherein the groove is interrupted by the space so that the grooveextends in a straight configuration on opposite sides of the solderingblock.

In some embodiments, the second upper surface further defines areservoir shaped to be in fluid communication with the groove, whereinthe groove is further sized so that, when the reservoir is filled with aflux, the groove draws flux from the reservoir by capillary action. Inother embodiments, the beam is attached to a structure that is movablevertically upward and downward in relation to the soldering block, andpreferably, the structure may comprise two arms parallel to each other,each arm having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end ofeach arm is attached respectively to a rotatable joint for permittingeach arm to pivot about the rotatable joint, and wherein the beam atopposite ends is attached respectively to the second end of each arm. Inyet further embodiments, the first upper surface may be an alloy formedfrom one of titanium, tantalum, zirconium and tungsten, and yet further,the alloy may be commercially pure titanium. In other embodiments again,the crucible may define two slots on opposite sides of the crucible,each slot sized to be small enough to maintain molten solder within thecrucible by surface tension, and large enough to permit a core wire tobe slidingly inserted into each of the two slots simultaneously.

In another embodiment, the invention is a method for pretinning a corewire for a guidewire having an elongate axis. The method comprisesplacing a ball of solder within a crucible in a soldering block. Theball of solder is melted to produce a molten ball of solder. A quantityof flux is placed in a reservoir, and the flux is allowed to migrate bycapillary action into a linear groove defined by a beam positionedadjacent the crucible. A first portion of the core wire is inserted inthe flux. Then the first portion is moved laterally (horizontally) in afirst direction. The first portion of the core wire is inserted into themolten ball of solder, while maintaining the core wire in a straightconfiguration with the elongate axis oriented horizontally.

In some embodiments, moving the first portion laterally in a firstdirection includes moving the first portion into a position above themolten ball of solder and, thereafter, lowering the core wire andthereby inserting the first portion into the molten ball of solder. Inother embodiments, maintaining the core wire in a straight configurationwith the elongate axis oriented horizontally includes maintaining thecore wire within the linear groove on a first side of the crucible, andwithin a grooved support on a second side of the crucible opposite thefirst side. In yet other embodiments, the invention further includesmoving the core wire laterally in a second direction opposite the firstdirection, thereby moving the first portion out of the molten ball ofsolder and into the quantity of flux. Additionally, in a furtherembodiment, further moving the core wire laterally in the firstdirection, thereby moving the first portion back into the molten ball ofsolder. And yet further, repeating the steps of moving the core wirelaterally in the second direction, followed by moving the core wirelaterally in the first direction, one or more times. And additionally,directly after a movement in which the core wire has been moved in thesecond direction, lifting the wire out of the molten ball of solder.

In a further embodiment, melting the ball of solder may includedimensioning the molten ball of solder in relation to the crucible suchthat an upper portion of the molten ball of solder is maintained in astable position above an upper rim of the crucible by surface tension.In some embodiments under this approach, inserting the first portion ofthe core wire into the molten ball of solder may include inserting thecore wire into an upper portion of solder that is above the upper rim ofthe crucible. In yet further embodiments, inserting the first portion ofthe core wire into the molten ball of solder may include inserting thecore wire between at least one of two slots formed on opposite sides ofthe crucible.

In yet another embodiment, the invention is a method of pretinning acore wire for a guidewire having an elongate axis. In this embodiment,the invention comprises placing a ball of solder within a pocket in asoldering block. The ball of solder is melted. A core wire is held overthe ball of solder, with the elongate axis in a horizontal orientation.A portion of the core wire is lowered into the ball of solder whilemaintaining the elongate axis in a horizontal orientation. Then, thecore wire is removed from the ball of solder.

In some embodiments, a sponge may be advanced, soaked in a flux, intocontact with the core wire before lowering the core wire into the ballof solder. Further, advancing a sponge soaked in a flux into contactwith the core wire may include rotating the core wire about the elongateaxis. Additionally, advancing a sponge soaked in flux may includeadvancing a sponge mounted on a jig. In further embodiments, furtherincluding retracting the sponge from the core wire after advancing thesponge. The method of claim 18, wherein lowering a portion of the corewire into the ball of solder includes rotating the core wire about theelongate axis. In embodiments, removing the core wire from the ball ofsolder may include moving the core wire in a direction having a vectorcomponent along the elongate axis and a vector component vertically,perpendicular to the elongate axis. In further embodiments, a ratio ofthe vector component along the elongate axis to the vector componentperpendicular to the elongate axis is in a range of between 2.5 to 3.5.In other embodiments, placing a ball of solder in a pocket may includeplacing a ball of solder which is a 80Au/20Sn eutectic solder alloy.Further, placing a ball of solder in a pocket may include placing a ballof solder which is in a range of 2 mm to 5 mm in diameter. Yet otherembodiments may include repeating the steps of lowering the core wireinto the ball of solder and then removing the guidewire from the ball ofsolder between three to five times. And in other embodiments, lowering aportion of the core wire into the ball of solder may include lowering aportion of the core wire that is located between 2 cm and 4 cm from adistal tip of the guidewire core into the ball of solder.

In yet another embodiment, the invention is a system for applying alayer of solder to a core wire for a guidewire. The invention comprisesa soldering block having a first upper surface that defines a pockethaving a depressed surface positioned below the first upper surface. Aflux applicator is provided, comprising a horizontally extending rod anda sponge attached to a distal tip of the rod, the sponge being soaked ina flux and positioned adjacent the soldering block; a ball of solderresting on the depressed surface, the ball having a second upper surfaceprotruding to a level above the first upper surface. In someembodiments, the ball of solder may be a 80Au/20Sn eutectic solderalloy. In other embodiments, the ball of solder may be in a range of 2mm-5 mm in diameter. Preferably, the first upper surface may be formedfrom a titanium alloy. In other embodiments, the first upper surface maybe formed from an alloy of at least one of tantalum, zirconium andtungsten.

These and other advantages of the invention will become apparent whenread in conjunction with the brief description of the drawings, and thedetailed description of some embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial schematic view of a configuration of elementsshowing a step of an embodiment of the invention in front view.

FIG. 2 is a partial schematic view of a configuration of elementsshowing a further step of an embodiment of the invention in front view.

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic view of a configuration of elementsshowing a step of an embodiment of the invention in side view.

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic view of a configuration of elementsshowing a further step of an embodiment of the invention in side view.

FIG. 5 is a partial schematic view of a configuration of elementsshowing yet a further step of an embodiment of the invention in sideview.

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic view of a configuration of elementsshowing yet a further step of an embodiment of the invention in sideview.

FIG. 7 is a partial schematic view of a guidewire formed according tothe method of an embodiment of the invention, with a coil attached to acore at a location where pretinning has been achieved.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of some components of a system for applyinga layer of solder to a core for a guidewire, having features of anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a detail view of a component of the system in FIG. 8, seenfrom above.

FIG. 10 is a schematic drawing showing steps taken in another embodimentof the invention in relation to components shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a tip of a soldering block used in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a top view of the tip of a soldering block shown in FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is described with reference to the figures. Insome embodiments, the invention is a method of fabricating a guidewire.

With reference to FIGS. 1-2 and FIGS. 3-6, a novel and useful method isdescribed that addresses the problems described above as encountered inthe prior art.

First, a soldering block 10 is provided, configured to have a flat upperhorizontal surface 12. At least one pocket or depression is formed inthe horizontal surface to form a crucible having a bottom surface 14,sized to hold a small solder ball 16. The upper surface 12 may act as anupper rim of the crucible. The soldering block contains a heatingelement and is connected via electric cables 18 to an electric powersupply (not shown), for heating the soldering block 10 and thereby thesolder ball 16 by known means. The soldering block, or at least itsupper surface 12, is made of a material that is not wetted by aflux/solder combination that will be used. It has been found thatcommercially pure titanium (not less than 99.2% pure) serves thispurpose, but other materials which form highly protective oxide layers,such as tantalum, zirconium or tungsten, may also be used.

Next, a flux applicator 20 is provided and positioned adjacent thesoldering block 10. FIGS. 3-6 show that this applicator 20 comprises ahorizontally extending rod 22. At a distal tip of the rod, a sponge 24is attached, suitable for absorbing a quantity of flux. The applicator20 may be mounted in a jig (not shown) so that it may be advancedtowards a position over the soldering block (arrow T1, FIG. 4) undermechanical control, and then withdrawn therefrom (arrow T2, FIG. 5).

While several commercial soldering fluxes are known to work for nitinol,Indium Corporation makes two fluxes that have been experimentallyproven, namely Indalloy Flux #2 and Indalloy Flux #3. The residue of theformer is more readily dissolved in heated water and is thus easier toremove after pretinning, so Flux #2 is generally preferred over Flux #3.

Once the system is set up as described above, the process of pretinninga guidewire core may commence according to the following methodology.

First, a guidewire core 30 is positioned above the pocket 14 of thesoldering block 10. This configuration is exemplified in FIG. 3.

The core 30 is lined up over the pocket 14 at a location 32 (FIG. 1)upon which it is desired to deposit a pretinning solder with flux. Thelocation 32 may be located a length of about 3 cm from the core tip 38.At the location 32 where pretinning will take place, the nitinol may besuperelastic. However, this is not a requirement, and, depending onproduct design, the nitinol may be cold worked in this location and yetstill fall within the scope of this invention.

Then, the applicator 20, on which a sponge 24 is loaded with a suitableflux, is advanced (arrow T1, FIG. 4) upon the jig towards the core 30,and the sponge is pressed up against the core 30.

The core 30 may be rotated about its axis (arrow R1, FIG. 4) so thatflux becomes evenly distributed about the circumference of the core.

The applicator 20 is then withdrawn from the core (arrow T2, FIG. 5)

A small ball of solder 16 (about 2 mm to 5 mm diameter) is inserted intothe pocket 14, where it is melted by electric power supplied to thesoldering block 10 according to known means. It will be understood thatthe ball of solder 16 may be inserted into the pocket at an earlierstage. Due to surface tension in the molten solder, and the absence ofwetting by the surface of the soldering block due to its metallurgicalqualities, the ball of solder sits exposed proud of the upper surface12, as may be envisaged with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5.

The core 30 is then slowly lowered into the ball of solder 16 (arrow V1,FIG. 6) so that it is partially submerged at selected location 32 alongthe length of the core 30. It is important that the wire remain straightwhile thus submerged, to avoid heat-setting it into a bent configurationwhere it is heated by the molten solder.

The core may then be slowly rotated about its axis (arrow R2, FIG. 6).Due to the fact that the core does not possess the non-wetting qualitiesof the upper surface 12 and it is also bathed in flux, the molten solderattaches itself to the surface of the core in a circumferential band 34(FIG. 2) of limited width “W” (FIG. 2) of about 2-5 mm, where, uponwithdrawal, the attached solder solidifies and presents a localized spotfor attaching further structure by soldering at a later stage. However,if the molten solder ball is larger in diameter than the nitinol corewire, it will surround the immersed nitinol wire, thereby eliminatingthe need to rotate the nitinol core about its axis. Hence, upon carefuladjustment of the size of the solder ball, core rotation may be avoidedto simplify the process.

Upon withdrawing the core 30 from the ball of solder 16, it has alsobeen found helpful to withdraw the tinned section with a large lateralvector of movement (arrow C2, FIG. 2) with only a small component ofvertical movement (arrow C1, FIG. 2). This avoids a thick, lumpy pretincoating which can occur if the vertical component is large, caused bydistortion of the ball due to surface tension associated cooling at thetop of the distorted solder mass. Preferably, the ratio of C2/C1 is inthe range between 2.5 and 3.5. However, successful withdrawal does notnecessarily depend on the ratio of lateral to vertical movement. Anotheruseful method for successful withdrawal is to move the nitinol wirelaterally such that a flux-free section of the wire resides within themolten solder before withdrawal. In the absence of flux, nitinol isnaturally repelled by molten solder and thus the wire can simply bemoved vertically (radially) to remove it without solder dragout. Takingadvantage of natural wire/solder repulsion is a simple method toattaining a “neat” withdrawal.

Multiple cycles of flux application and solder submersion may berequired in a preferred range of three to five cycles, before a band ofsuitable pretinning is obtained on the guidewire core.

The process above describes pretinning having features of the invention.The present invention thus offers several advantages over prior artnitinol pretinning processes.

Once the core 30 has been pretinned 34 at a desired location 32, thecore is ready to receive additional components of the guidewire such asa coil, extending towards the tip of the guidewire. As seen in FIG. 7, aguidewire core 30 has a coil 36 attached which extends from a tip 38 ofthe guidewire proximally, and is attached by solder 40 to the core. Thepretinned solder 34 coincides with the location of the attachment solder40, and this provides a robust and secure point at which the coil isattached to the core.

Some advantages:

Pretinning under the present invention can be applied only where neededfor subsequent solder joints, thus minimizing heat exposure of thecold-worked section in products that feature nitinol tip technology, andthus minimizes core wire distortion during guide wire manufacturing.

Pretinning can be performed at multiple locations along the core wire bythe same operator at a single workstation. Through appropriate fixturedesign, core wires can be held by a single fixture which enablespretinning at all desired locations.

Pretinning can be performed “just-in-time” by operators on finalassembly lines using simple tools and fixtures with a conventional fluxand existing solder stations, rather than off-line in a “batch” modeusing a house-made caustic flux blend and capital equipment.

The molten solder volume required is dramatically reduced, thusminimizing the amount of gold at risk of theft (the value of the gold inone prior art pretinning station may be in the region of about$40,000-$50,000; the solder may contain 80% gold by weight). Further,the large volume of solder in the prior art process must be replacedregularly due to an inevitable drift in composition, generally from tinloss, that leads to increases in the molten solder's liquidus andultimately degradation in pretin coating quality due to nodules ofproeutectic gold-rich phase.

In another embodiment, exemplified in FIGS. 8-12, a further system andmethod is provided for facilitating the application of solder to a corewire. This system uses some of the elements of the previous embodiment,insofar as a crucible is provide in a soldering block, capable ofreceiving a blob of solder for melting, and retaining the solder so thata portion of the solder may be held above the upper surface of the blockby the action of surface tension. This system comprises a beam 100which, in some embodiments, spans between two arms 102, 104, and whichis removably connected to the arms by two threaded knobs 110, 112 whichmay also be used as convenient points for holding and manipulating thebeam during the pre-tinning process. The arms are fixed at pivot points106, 108 to a fixed base 109, 111 so that the beam 100 may be raisedvertically while the arms pivot about their respective pivot points.(FIG. 8.) The upper surface of the beam is shaped to provide thefollowing features. A groove 114 runs across the entire length of thebeam (although it may be interrupted in places). The groove is sized toreceive a guidewire core 115 along the length of the core during apre-tinning process. A reservoir 116 which is sized to be filled withflux, straddles and interrupts the groove 114, so that when thereservoir is filled with flux the groove is also always filled with fluxwhich is drawn from the reservoir by capillary action. This way, aguidewire core inserted into the groove will always have flux applied tothe portion of the wire adjacent the reservoir.

The upper surface of the beam 100 is also interrupted by an opening 118sized to receive a soldering iron tip 120 (Weller™ provides a suitablesoldering iron) that may be heated electrically while it may becontrolled electronically. The tip 120 defines a crucible or bowl 122suitable for receiving a ball of solder 124 (such as described above)that will be heated to melting. The quantity of solder will besufficient so that, in combination with the non-wettable substanceforming the bowl (also described above), the solder stands proud of thecircumferential lip of the bowl by about 3 mm, held there by surfacetension. This will allow the horizontally oriented core wire 115 to beinserted into the solder without the core wire being bent. Additionally,as exemplified in FIGS. 11-12, vertical slots 130 may be provided on thelip of the bowl 122 and sized so that flux residue may drain out of theslots while the solder is held back inside the bowl by surface tensionof the solder. The slots may be simultaneously sized so that the corewire can pass through the slots, as an alternative to passing above thelevel of the lip of the bowl. In this way, the horizontally orientedcore wire 115 can enter the solder without being bent. In oneembodiment, the slots may be sized such that the depth of the slot “D”(FIG. 11-12) is 1.5 mm (in the range of 1.3 mm-1.7 mm), and the width ofthe slot “W” is 0.5 mm (in the range of 0.4 mm-0.6 mm).

The tip 120 is connected to a base 131 which contains an electronicsystem (not shown) providing power to the soldering block. Below thebowl 122, a catchment basin 126 resides above a surface 123 that is notpart of the beam. The basin 126 is configured to catch any solder thatmay spill over the sides of the bowl 122 during the process, and isfurther configured to be removable for heating to recover the spilledsolder due to its high value gold content.

Thus, in operation, after the reservoir 116 has been filled with fluxand the bowl 122 has been filled with a ball of molten solder 124 whichstands proud of the lip of the bowl, a guidewire core 115 may beinserted into the groove 110. The height of the core may be adjustedvertically above the solder ball 124 by adjusting the height of the beam100 manually manipulating the two knobs 110, 112, or using an automatedmechanism to control the arms 102, 104. Thus, the core wire 115 may belowered into the molten solder ball and then lifted out again at a laterstage, without the core wire 115 being bent at any stage of thisprocess. This is due to the height of the solder standing proud of thebowl 122 under surface tension, or, due to slots 130 in the side wall ofthe bowl 122 giving access to the wire 115 in its straightconfiguration. This aspect of not bending the core wire is important inorder to avoid the core wire assuming a permanently bent condition uponremoval from the high temperature molten solder. Any bend in the wirewhich receives such elevated temperatures will tend to set the corewire, in its metallurgical state, to assume the bend as a permanentconfiguration.

A preferred process for pretinning the guidewire core may be applied asfollows, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. These steps are suitable foruse in a manual process and in an automated process. FIG. 9 shows adetail view of the central portion of FIG. 8, while FIG. 10 represents,in schematic form, the steps taken and schematically shows a wire core115 positioned in a groove of a beam, and being advanced and retractedin relation to the elongate axis of the beam 100 which is shown aboveFIG. 10, in FIG. 9. The symbol “S” between arrows shows the location ofthe solder ball 124 in relation to the core wire 115. The symbol “F”between arrows shows the region in the groove 114 where flux isintroduced via capillary action from the reservoir, and thereforeidentifies a region on the wire which may be coated in flux. The dot onthe wire 115 shown adjacent the symbol “P” indicates the same point onthe wire, that is moved left and right during the various steps of themethod, and assists the reader in following the process described. Theregion adjacent the letter “P” shown in hatched shading and marked “F”also indicates the region on the wire which has been coated in fluxduring the process.

Step 1: A core wire 115 is positioned within the groove 114 extendingalong a beam 100 as shown in FIGS. 8-9, and is elevated upwards inrelation to a ball of molten solder 124 by rotating the arms 102, 104upwards so that the core wire is not inserted into the ball of solder at“S”. Flux is inserted into the reservoir 116, so that the grooveportion, between the reservoir and the ball of solder, fills up withflux under capillary action. At this stage, the point “P” on the corewire may be aligned (as seen from above) with an end of the groove whichis filled with flux and the region “F” on the wire will be coated influx.

Step 2. While still holding the wire 115 above the ball of solder 124,the wire is advanced so that the point “P” passes beyond the region “S”;and, the region “F” on the wire which has been coated in flux is, atleast partially, positioned above the solder ball 124 within the region“S”. It will be appreciated that under this configuration, the core wire115 straddles across the ball of solder 124 and is supported on eitherside by the groove 114. On one side, the groove is filled with flux, asdescribed, and on the other side the groove is dry. This arrangementmaintains the wire 115 in a straight configuration throughout theprocess, oriented horizontally. Thus, the process is highly suited toautomation.

Step 3: The beam 100 is pivoted downward about the arms 102, 104, sothat the wire 115 is depressed downwardly and inserted into the ball ofsolder 124 in the center. The point “P” remains aligned as it was (asseen from above) as in step 2 so that the region “F” on the wire that iscoated with flux is pressed into the solder. When dropping the wire downinto the molten solder ball, it is preferred that this section of thewire be coated in flux so that it immediately begins wetting. If notflux coated, the wire may be strongly repelled by the solder, which maytend to deflect the wire and cause the resulting bend region to becomepermanently bent due to the solder's elevated temperature.

Step 4: Holding the elevation of the core wire constant and positionedwithin the solder ball by holding the beam 100 immovable, the wire 115is gripped (by mechanical means where an automated process, by handwhere manual) and is retracted by sliding the point “P” laterally towardthe reservoir 116 and away from the solder ball 124 so that the portionof the wire initially covered in flux in step 1 and step 2 is now wettedwith solder, and it leaves the ball of solder so that a region of wireuncoated by flux enters the solder ball. This action also causes theregion “F” to be then re-coated with flux from the groove, on top of theexisting coat of solder. The region of wire uncoated by flux that entersthe solder ball is not wetted by the solder, so that when it iseventually advanced out of the solder ball (steps below) it remainsclean and uncoated by solder.

Step 5: Continuing to hold the elevation of the wire constant, the corewire 115 is again gripped and is advanced by sliding the point “P”laterally towards and through the solder ball 124 and away from thereservoir 116 so that the region “F” has been inserted into andre-wetted with a fresh coat of flux.

Step 6 and Step 7: Step 4 and step 5 may be repeated a number of times,as necessary until the built-up coat of solder is acceptable. Onceagain, in repeating the advancing step 5, a portion “F” of core wirethat has been coated with flux during the previous step 4 is insertedinto the ball of solder which consequently wets that portion of the wirewith solder. It will be appreciated that the portion of core wire thatwas inside the ball of solder during retracting step 4 will simply bepushed out of the solder during step 5 without being wetted by solder,due to the fact that that portion of the wire has not been coated withany flux during the process.

Step 8: When it is decided that sufficient repetitions (if any) of step4 and step 5 have taken place to coat the core wire adequately withsolder, it is ensured that the core wire is in the retracted condition(the same as at the end of step 4) and with a portion of wire, that atno stage has been coated with flux, positioned inside the ball of solder124.

Step 9: The beam 100 is then elevated by rotating the arms 102, 104upwards. This may be done manually, or automatically under mechanicalaction. The portion of wire within the ball of solder is elevated out ofthe solder. However, due to the non-wetted state of the wire inside thesolder, which at no stage has been coated with flux under the describedprocess, it will not pull any solder away with it. It is important toensure that the wire inside the solder has not been coated with flux bythis stage of elevating the wire, because otherwise its coated statewill cause “icicles” or blobs of excess solder to form as the wire ispulled away and drags solder with it.

After a number of core wires have been coated according to thisprocedure, the wires may be taken off for cleaning in a bath of heatedwater with ultrasonic action, which has been found suitable for cleaningoff the flux used. It is feasible to use a dilute citric acid solutionto promote the removal of flux residue.

In a variation of the above method, a core wire may be solder-coated onits terminal end (tip) by adhering to the general description providedabove except that, while the wire may be inserted into the groove asbefore, the wire may be positioned not to straddle the molten ball ofsolder 124, but rather so that the tip of the wire may be positioned inthe flux in the groove 114. From this position, the wire may be linearlyadvanced and retracted in and out of the molten ball of solder withoutthe need to elevate the wire above the ball of solder at any stage.Thus, the beam may remain stationary, without elevating it anddepressing it through rotation about the pinned arms. It will beappreciated that the tip, repeatedly coated in flux during theretraction step, may be horizontally inserted repeatedly into the moltenball of solder during the advance step to build up a tip that is wellcoated in solder. The method does not require any portion of wire to beremoved vertically out of the solder, as is required as the terminalstep when the wire straddles the ball of solder as described above. Whenthe wire's terminal end is withdrawn from the ball of solder by an axialmovement, the problem of blobs of solder that may form on the wire, doesnot arise

Thus, the various embodiments of the invention provide an advantageoussystem and method for pre-tinning core guidewire with solder, andaddresses problems found in the prior art. The present invention may, ofcourse, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein setforth without departing from the essential characteristics of theinvention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered inall respects as illustrative and not restrictive, while the scope of theinvention is set forth in the claims that follow.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A method for pretinning a core wire for a guidewirehaving an elongate axis, comprising: placing a ball of solder within acrucible in a soldering block; melting the ball of solder to produce amolten ball of solder; placing a quantity of flux in a reservoir, andallowing the flux to migrate by capillary action into a linear groovedefined by a beam positioned adjacent the crucible; inserting a firstportion of the core wire in the flux; then moving the first portionlaterally in a first direction; and inserting the first portion of thecore wire into the molten ball of solder, while maintaining the corewire in a straight configuration with the elongate axis orientedhorizontally.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein moving the first portionlaterally in a first direction includes moving the first portion into aposition above the molten ball of solder and, thereafter, lowering thecore wire and thereby inserting the first portion into the molten ballof solder.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein maintaining the core wirein a straight configuration with the elongate axis oriented horizontallyincludes maintaining the core wire within the linear groove on a firstside of the crucible, and within a grooved support on a second side ofthe crucible opposite the first side.
 11. The method of claim 8, furtherincluding, moving the core wire laterally in a second direction oppositethe first direction, thereby moving the first portion out of the moltenball of solder and into the quantity of flux.
 12. The method of claim 11further including, moving the core wire laterally in the firstdirection, thereby moving the first portion back into the molten ball ofsolder.
 13. The method of claim 12 further repeating the steps of movingthe core wire laterally in the second direction, followed by moving thecore wire laterally in the first direction, one or more times.
 14. Themethod of claim 13 including, directly after the core wire has beenmoved in the second direction, lifting the wire out of the molten ballof solder.
 15. The method of claim 8, wherein melting the ball of solderincludes dimensioning the molten ball of solder in relation to thecrucible such that an upper portion of the molten ball of solder ismaintained in a stable position above an upper rim of the crucible bysurface tension.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein inserting the firstportion of the core wire into the molten ball of solder includesinserting the core wire into an upper portion of solder that is abovethe upper rim of the crucible.
 17. The method of claim 8, whereininserting the first portion of the core wire into the molten ball ofsolder includes inserting the core wire between at least one of twoslots formed on opposite sides of the crucible.
 18. A method ofpretinning a core wire for a guidewire having an elongate axis,comprising: placing a ball of solder within a pocket in a solderingblock; melting the ball of solder; holding a core wire over the ball ofsolder, with the elongate axis in a horizontal orientation; lowering aportion of the core wire into the ball of solder while maintaining theelongate axis in a horizontal orientation; removing the core wire fromthe ball of solder.
 19. The method of claim 18, further including,advancing a sponge, soaked in a flux, into contact with the core wirebefore lowering the core wire into the ball of solder.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein advancing a sponge soaked in a flux into contact withthe core wire includes rotating the core wire about the elongate axis.21. The method of claim 19, wherein advancing a sponge soaked in fluxincludes advancing a sponge mounted on a jig.
 22. The method of claim21, further including retracting the sponge from the core wire afteradvancing the sponge.
 23. The method of claim 18, wherein lowering aportion of the core wire into the ball of solder includes rotating thecore wire about the elongate axis.
 24. The method of claim 18, whereinremoving the core wire from the ball of solder includes moving the corewire in a direction having a vector component along the elongate axisand a vector component vertically, perpendicular to the elongate axis.25. The method of claim 24, wherein a ratio of the vector componentalong the elongate axis to the vector component perpendicular to theelongate axis is in a range of between 2.5 to 3.5.
 26. The method ofclaim 18, wherein placing a ball of solder in a pocket includes placinga ball of solder which is a 80Au/20Sn eutectic solder alloy.
 27. Themethod of claim 18, wherein placing a ball of solder in a pocketincludes placing a ball of solder which is in a range of 2 mm to 5 mm indiameter.
 28. The method of claim 18, including repeating the steps oflowering the core wire into the ball of solder and then removing theguidewire from the ball of solder between three to five times.
 29. Themethod of claim 18, wherein placing a ball of solder in a pocket in asoldering block includes providing a soldering block comprisingcommercially pure titanium.
 30. The method of claim 18, wherein loweringa portion of the core wire into the ball of solder includes lowering aportion of the core wire that is located between 2 cm and 4 cm from adistal tip of the guidewire core into the ball of solder. 31-35.(canceled)